Strider returns in a brand new adventure, complete with incredible side-scrolling action, and lightning fast combat all in a massive interconnected world! Download the full game February 19th and become the original assassin!

Recommended By Curators

Reviews

“Strider is a great reboot and a fresh action experience for newcomers to the franchise”
8.75 – Game Informer

“Strider nails the thrill of being that ultimate ninja badass”
8.5 – Polygon

Steam Big Picture

About This Game

Strider returns in a brand new adventure, complete with incredible side-scrolling action, and lightning fast combat all in a massive interconnected world! Download the full game February 19th and become the original assassin!

Key Features

The ultimate ninja returns – Strider Hiryu, the original assassin that inspired many third person action titles returns in a completely new game for a new generation of gamers as he takes on the Grand Master Meio.

Lightning fast combat – Use an arsenal of moves and weapons against your enemies whilst slicing your way through a massive interconnected game world.

Plasma Cyphers – From scorching enemies to freezing them in their tracks or deflecting a host of bullets, the indestructible plasma charged cypher offers a range of action tactics for players to use against their foes.

Seamless Traversal – Jump, climb and run through the expansive game world with the speed and agility of a ninja whilst climbing surfaces to gain that extra height and engaging the enemy from virtually any direction.

Upon its release, Strider promised gameplay faithful to the original series and attacks as responsive as your button presses. Poor marketing if you ask me. No, let me tell you the true selling point of Strider.

The Strider experience can be divided into two periods: the early part with shielded enemies where you have to hold down the B button to charge your slash attack, destroy the shield, then attack the soldier behind it with normal slashes. Conventional gameplay found anywhere else. Later game however brings giant robots and soldiers with powerful laser guns, but less shields. Doing damage as fast as you press the slash button suddenly matters, because the only hurdle is getting hit by the enemy. Now bear in mind you have a Charge Strike Meter, which charges up every time you hit an enemy regardless of how much damage you do. You'll also have unlocked Option-A, the rotating satellite thingies which greatly increases your hit count. Not to mention the Kunai, which works on the spread shot principle meaning that at point blank, all three hits connect and raise the Charge Strike Meter. See where I'm going?

The ability to reliably fill the Charge Strike Meter and reach Charge Mode changes the game dramatically. Charge Mode is best described as "Fry with 100 cups of coffee" mode and for my money, blows away its Sleeping Dogs equivalent in the dust. It transforms Strider from a vulnerable hoppy-avoidy ninja who has to manage his button presses, into the ultimate human chainsaw able to finish off monstrous killer robots before they can fire off their next shot. You lose all of that power the moment you get hit, so there's actual tension in those hellish games of chicken. As for the energy bar which controls your usage of Kunai and Options, it's been designed so that it refills over time without need of external resources, encouraging you to use your specials at any time without taking undue importance from your Cypher attacks.

It might seem wrong to enjoy a Strider game on the strength of playing a death-crazed berzerker rather than a nimble evasive ninja, but it's fun in its own right and that's what counts; right? Dare I call it an intelligent button-masher? Because you work to enter Charge Mode, you work to stay in Charge Mode and you work to take advantage of the 5 seconds of Charge Mode, I say yes. That's right: Strider is worth your money for the 5 seconds of Charge Mode it provides. The exploration aspect? You live in a bleak cacotopia where every enemy is a one dimensional evil baddy. Finding stuff is a chore, not a reward. The attacks most associated with Strider, to wit the Slide and the Down Strike, feel tacked on by the necessity of this being a Strider franchise. In practice, these attacks are mostly used for area unlocking rather than combat. I might've bought this game on the strength of its franchise but now I've discovered a much greater, far more exciting game that would exist outside of it...

Speaking of mismanaged game mechanics, let's talk about the Cypher Upgrades! The first upgrade you unlock is the Reflect Cypher and it's the coolest by far. It turns you into a Jedi, reflecting enemy bolts back at the shooter if you time it just right, opening up synergy with the Charge Mode mechanic for its slowdown effect. Too bad enemies stop using reflectable bolts midway throughout the game. The second upgrade is the Burst Cypher, aka THE BEST CYPHER IN THE GAME. Completely trivializes the way-cool Reflect Upgrade because you can now make your enemies explode; or, why use sidegrades when you have access to a straight upgrade? The third upgrade is the Ultra-Cold Cypher, for turning enemies into ice platforms and better explore the game. It's a platformer mechanic rather than a combat mechanic, which turns it into a forced upgrade. Well there was one section where a mass of soldiers occupied a bottleneck, with soldiers in the back able to shoot past their brethren to form an impassable wall of fire. The solution was to use the Ultra-Cold Cypher to freeze the first soldier into a wall that prevented the others from firing past, and then whittle through the enemy mass. Kudos for that, but otherwise there wasn't much opportunity to appreciate the Ultra-Cold rather than be forced to use it for non-combat purposes. The last upgrade is the Magnetic Upgrade, which fires ranged boomerang beams at your opponents. Defeating the whole "you have a sword, your enemies have guns" motif inherent to ninja-related games. It's the last upgrade though, and as such feels enough like an end-game mechanic that you forgive it for being dead simple.

Although not as exciting as the combat, the platforming can be enjoyable on its own thanks to the Plasma Catapult, your 8-way short-ranged teleport dash device. The challenge comes from planning your trajectory, working the flexible nature of your jumps along with the linear nature of the Plasma Catapult to form elaborate mid-air travel paths. Thank goodness the developers cribbed from Guacamelee's "return to the latest stable platform" system in case of miss or else this game would've been unbearable! The Plasma Catapult also gains from the Cypher Upgrades to form some cool but essentially useless gimmicks. For example, the Magnetic Plasma Catapult turns the targets you pass through into living magnets for enemy fire! Too bad it's tied to the ranged Magnetic Upgrade, making it more convenient to just shoot them from a distance. In fact, every combat gimmick tied to the Plasma Catapult is nullified by the fact that the Plasma Catapult phases through your enemies, bypassing the very notion of combat!

On the topic of Challenge Mode, one important notice for the developers: you need a way to show the player his top score and rank in a stage BEFORE he clicks the mission, so the player knows which stage he aced and which stage still needs work. C'mon guys, this is basic Gaming 101 here! Otherwise, since Story Mode is rather short if you discount all of the backtracking for hidden items and there's no "New Game +" where you could do a more difficult run with the toys you've already unlocked, alternative modes of play become greatly appreciated. Thankfully, Challenge Mode missions are built around the best aspects of the game: races across the city where you manage your usage of Plasma Catapult, and combat!

I gripe, but I had fun. The developers, Double Helix Games, have thrown a great deal of ideas at the wall and many of them stuck. You want a sequel and you want an editor, someone who will focus the game on the more thoughtful mechanics and axe all the overpowered ♥♥♥♥. No seriously, the first Option you unlock, the bird, turns each and every boss fight into easy mode. EVEN THE END BOSS FINAL FORM!

Genre - Japanese Sci-Fi Action/PlatformI played the original back on the Atari ST and I don't remember getting much past the first boss, but I still enjoyed it. This is a change of pace with difficulty settings and power ups to help even the odds. The graphics look ace and Strider is a cool character to play. The bosses can be a challenge even on the easier modes. It can get a bit repetitive though so I would recommend playing it in small doses.

This is exactly what a reboot should be. A good action-platformer franchise taken into the new generation with fantastic, fluid graphics, a constant rush, and all the Metroidvania aspects you'd like to see! Really, even if you're only familiar with Strider from the 'Vs.' series, you'll see all the stuff you remember him throwing out in this, and it's all done so well! This is very highly recommended.

Solid Metrovania style game that does the original version proud. There can be a few times where the game may seem unfair but if you rethink your approach and use the provided skillsets those challenges can become much easier. The only thing I wish I could change would be the dialogue between characters as it's a bit tiring and melodramatic. If you want a good game to kill an afternoon with than I would easily recommend Strider.

This game to begin with really put me off, its not until a gd hour into it your begin to enjoy yourself. Once you gain a few special powers the game becomes alot more enjoyable and there is quite a few to aquire! The bosses are enjoyable to fight but seem a little to easy and that rings true for the entire game aswell. Theres alot of collecting, outfits etc etc and I do suggest you try and collect them all to get the most from the game. Overall its very enjoyable, just dont be put off when you first start playing

Loved the old NES and Genesis versions but this just kicks the hell out of them. A lot of passion went into creating this and it shows big time. The music, sound design, game play, art and graphics, character animation, level design is all fantastic. The story is weak but that is perfect--I think too heavy of a story would have held back the fast-paced rush of this game.

This is back to the old style of 2D gaming I grew up with but with a 2.5D punch. You feel like a damn hero playing this game. I miss that!! They also kept the "Soviet" influence we remember from the pre-90s and amped it up to be more present throughout the game for a more futuristic dystopia. Actually...maybe...unfortunately not so futuristic. Listen to the propaganda in this game and it sounds familiar.

UPDATE: Forgot to mention I used a Logitech Precision gamepad. Like Bionic Commando Rearmed, I had issues with it being recognized. There is not a gamepad setup in-game, so I had to use the Logitech Profiler to assign the keystrokes and it worked fine.

If you liked Mark of the Ninja, but wanted something fastier and flashier, this is just the ticket. Handles like an absolute dream. High on challenge, low on frustration. Bosses are interesting, varied, and fun to fight. Best Metroidvania I've played in a while.

A sidescroller where you control a samurai-esque character. The game starts off with two attacks and the jump button - as you progress and defeat bosses more movements are introduced. Everything just feels very slick, polished, and futuristic, the controls are responsive and it is easy to land attacks on your ennemies no matter what you are doing, you can gradually change your direction in mid-air, you can hook onto just about any surface and everything looks way cool. Game gives a greate sense of empowerement through and through. Very nice sci fi anime look to everything.

This game is everything that I wanted in a game let alone a Strider reboot. Smooth controls, good visuals, fun level design and fast paced combat with enough collectibles to keep you hunting. This is the game that finally got me to speed run.

I really enjoyed playing Strider. It's simple,it's fun and you feel like a true badass just slashing everything in pieces.

The best part of the game are the different challenging bossfights. Epicness threw the whole game. The story is simple and not very interesting in my opinion but ♥♥♥♥ it, it's not really importan when u can reflect bullets with your freakin sword.

Mark of the Ninja makes you feel like a ninja by having you sneak around, cool and calculated. Strider makes you feel like a ninja by throwing you into huge firefights armed with only a sword and reflexes. You also have an inexplicable glowy laser scarf. GLOWY NEON COLORS EVERYWHERE. So pretty.

The default difficulty level is kind of high; I recommend playing on easy. You can attack as fast as you can mash the attack button, and higher difficulties just up the HP of enemies.

This game is a ton of fun, it's cheap, high quality and true to what the Strider games are. Sadly though, with Crapcom being Crapcom, they put little to no effort advertising or getting this game out there and it seems to have flown under the radar. It's a real shame as the game is incredibly good for what it is.

Okay I saw this game and expected some high-quality remake like Bionic Commando Rearmed and Duck Tales Remastered. You know, they're great classic games, uplifted with polished graphics and sound, but honestly the whole point is to get that dose of retro nostalgia. If you didn't care, you might as well download the rom image and play the old version on an emulator for free, right? For a long time that's what I assumed Strider would be like.

OH WOW WAS I WRONG.

It's so much better than that. This game isn't about nostalgia at all, it was made out of a genuine love of old platformer games and strives to bring something fresh and exciting into that genre. It's like what kids back then thought future videogames would be like, a supercharged progression of what they already have, and now it's come true.

Also, I'm convinced it's THE best "metroidvania" since Super Metroid. I never thought I'd say that.